Two for the Seesaw

This time, the reader question was: With Purlie Victorious returning to Broadway, what are other plays that were revived on Broadway after their musical adaptations premiered?

The criteria are that these shows have been nominated for Best Musical from the 3rd Tony Awards (the ceremony that started the Best Musical category) in 1949 to the nominations of what will now be the 74th Tony Awards in 2021. I will be determining their signs based upon their Broadway premiere date. With those rules in mind, here we go!

The spirited, romantic and beloved musical story of Maria and the von Trapp Family will charm audiences at The Gateway with its Tony, Grammy and Academy Award winning Best Score, including 'My Favorite Things,' 'Do-Re-Mi,' 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain,' 'Edelweiss' and the title song, 'The Sound of Music.'

Gloucester Stage Company continues its 38th season of professional theater on Cape Ann with N. Richard Nash's moving American classic The Rainmaker from July 14 through August 5 at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Set in the time of a paralyzing drought in Depression-era America, The Rainmaker tells the story of a pivotal hot summer day in the life of spinsterish Lizzie Curry, whose father and two brothers are worried as much about her marriage prospects as they are about their dying cattle. Enter Starbuck, the consummate con man, who promises to solve all their problems, for a fee. Directed by Gloucester Stage Artistic Director Robert Walsh, The Rainmaker cast features Brian Homer as Starbuck; Jessica Bates as Lizzie Curry; David DeBeck as H.C. Curry, the patriarch of the Curry family; Joe Short and Sean McCoy as the Curry brothers; Dave Rich as File and longtime Gordon College Professor of Theater Arts Norm Jones as Sheriff Thomas. N. Richard Nash's most celebrated play, The Rainmaker, appeared in all three mediums; on Broadway in 1954, as a motion picture starring Katharine Hepburn in 1956, and as a television production in 1982. A musical version of The Rainmaker, entitled 110 Degrees in the Shade, debuted on Broadway in 1963.

This year's Tony nominations, announced earlier this month, brought a slew of renowned names. Performers such as Kevin Kline (PRESENT LAUGHTER), Nathan Lane (THE FRONT PAGE) and Patti LuPone (WAR PAINT) are no strangers to the Tony Awards, let alone to the Broadway stage.

Sovremennik Theatre (Russia's oldest theatre company) makes a welcome return to London this May, (following a successful season at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2011) with a triple bill of plays at the Piccadilly Theatre.

Cal State Fullerton is opening the Tony Award-winning THE MIRACLE WORKER by William Gibson tonight, February 19 (running through March 13) in the Hallberg Theatre on the CSUF campus. Directed by Dr. Joseph Arnold, the docudrama touches on the volatile relationship between the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan.

Cal State Fullerton is opening the Tony Award-winning THE MIRACLE WORKER by William Gibson on February 19 (running through March 13) in the Hallberg Theatre on the CSUF campus. Directed by Dr. Joseph Arnold, the docudrama touches on the volatile relationship between the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan.

The Boston Theater Critics Association today announced that legendary song and dance man Tommy Tune will be the recipient of The 30th Anniversary Elliot Norton Lifetime Achievement Award.

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award

Three-time Tony Award-winning scenic designer ROBIN WAGNER and esteemed costume designer LEWIS BROWN are among the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards recipients. The awards will be presented at a ceremony on Friday, April 8 at 6:30pm at the Hudson Theatre (145 West 44th Street). Mr. Brown was selected to receive the 2011 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award for costume design, and Tony Award-winning scenic designer Robin Wagner will receive the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Sustained Excellence in Theatrical Design. Sadly, Mr. Brown passed away in January of 2011. His award will be accepted by his long-time colleague and friend, Albert Wolsky, who was the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award

The New York Times is reporting that playwright William Gibson who won a Tony Award in 1960 for The Miracle Worker has died at 94 in Stockbridge, Mass. according to his agent, Mary Ann Anderson.

Robert Wise, whose distinguished career included winning four Oscars for directing and producing the film versions of West Side Story and The Sound of Music, passed away at the age of 91

Legendary actress Anne Bancroft, who won a Tony for her performance in the Miracle Worker, has passed away at the age of 73